The many bracelets the Cardinal was wearing clanked against his golden wrist cuffs as he gripped Noah’s extended hand with both of his. “The pleasure is all mine, Noah,” he said in a throaty voice, squeezing firmly instead of going for a regular handshake. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting the young man who’s done so much for the Empire in such a short time.”
Noah flinched on the inside, but didn’t drop his smile. He didn’t like to think about his contributions to the Church, didn’t like to acknowledge them even if they always managed to catch up to him. He preferred to ignore them, to pretend they didn’t exist, but, he supposed, there was no way around that tonight.
“Thank you, Your Holiness. Your words humble me. I was simply doing my duty as a servant of God, nothing more,” he said, summoning his most reverent-sounding voice.
The elevator chimed and the Cardinal let go so they could all board it. A few streaks of white in his otherwise hickory hair revealed themselves as he left the ambient light of the hall, placing him closer in age to Teresa than Noah. His eyes were the one thing that stood out, darker in hue than Teresa’s light brown, but attentive and bright as they betrayed that same excitement that shone in hers.
“Young man! Your dedication and loyalty to the Church hasn’t gone unnoticed. Take credit where it’s due,” the Cardinal chastised, sounding amused. “We have great things planned for you.”
Just as Noah had suspected, nothing new there, but his insides still twisted.It was fine. He’d known it was coming.He swept his gaze over Teresa, gracing her with a smile and a small nod.
“Teresa didn’t mention anything specific…” he prompted, the curious part of him prevailing.
The Cardinal laughed, patting him on the shoulder. “Eager, I like it. But this is best explained in person.” They reached the banquet floor, and the Cardinal led the way, humming to himself. “Perhaps you could stop by after dinner for a quick chat, but we will discuss your new position”—he looked at Noah over his shoulder and grinned—“as a member of theChurch’s Inner Circle of Devouttomorrow as scheduled.”
Noah stopped dead in his tracks, his jaw going slack.The Church’s Inner Circle?That went beyond what he’d expected, an outcome he’d not even considered and thus hadn’t prepared himself for. The salary increase he would be getting would be crazy, making it easier to save up and arrange his escape quicker than he’d originally estimated.But…the things they would likely have him do were going to be waywayworse than getting information the Church could use for blackmail. Only the most loyal people, like Teresa, could even apply to the Circle and yet the Cardinal was giving Noah an opportunity to do it like this.
“Your Holiness? You want me to work for you… despite my inexperience?”
“You have proven you have what it takes to carry out the Church’s interests. You also have my most esteemed minister’s personal recommendation,” the Cardinal stated, crossing his arms and tilting his chin at Teresa, who, just like him, looked thoroughly pleased. “So, what do you say, Noah? Interested?” he posed, then continued walking down the gilded corridor.
Noah squeezed his hands into fists and watched the two for a few heartbeats, his feet rooted to the ground. He didn’t really have a choice other than to accept an offer of this magnitude. It was both the worst possible thing that could have happened and the best one at the same time, his mind confused whether to howl in joy or wail in desperation.
“Of course!” Noah barked out with enthusiasm, jogging to catch up to them. “I’m truly honored, Your Holiness.” He wondered if that had been the surprise Teresa had mentioned and he had to commend her for keeping it from him. “Does this mean I will be… directly involved with the expansion efforts?” he asked, needing to know here and now, so he could get over the guilt already flaring within him.
He had to and he would, so he could survive this and start his new life sooner than he’d dared hope.
“Of course, young man,” the Cardinal chuckled, extending his hand with the palm down so Noah could kiss thejeweled signet ring. “You are the type of asset we can’t let slip from our hands.”
Noah bowed and touched his lips to the ring. He didn’t really see the point in such an archaic tradition, but people in positions so high up clearly did. “Thank you for your words, Your Holiness. It’s my honor to be in your service.”
Teresa clapped her hands, beaming at Noah as they turned the next corner. “Ah, this brings me such joy, but the celebration will have to wait.” She pointed at the grand white doors of the banquet hall just ahead of them, a statue of a chariot led by angels occupying the space between the two sides.
“Indeed,” the Cardinal agreed, schooling his expression from a smug smirk into neutral authority. “We’ll continue this conversation later,” he told Noah without turning, and straightened his posture, which only brought his height to Noah’s chin. “For now, let us welcome our guests and enjoy dinner!”
One of the two uniformed men standing by the statue opened the door, announcing the Cardinal and Teresa’s arrival. It took him around a minute to get through all the titles attached to their names and then Noah was finally walking to his seat, lost in thought about his new position as the guard moved onto announcing the foreign representatives in attendance.
Noah stumbled over the step preceding the elevated platform where the banquet table was. Fortunately, he kept his balance and none of the guests seemed to notice his clumsiness, too distracted by the Cardinal taking his seat at the head of the table to pay a nobody like Noah any attention. He didn’t look up to confirm that however, and simply sat on Teresa’s left, pinning his attention on the plate and silverware in front of him.
Well, shit. Even more forks and spoons than the last time Noah had attended an official function. Half of them bent in weird ways that made him wonder if they were just for decoration.
“Uh, Teresa,” he whispered, leaning toward her so only she could hear him. “Why is there so much extra silverware?”
She chuckled, spreading the napkin on her lap as she smiled at someone across the table. “It is a Church-hosted event, dear, so there are extra dishes. Did you not pay attention during your training before we left for Seoul?” she asked, still not even bothering to look at him and still smiling at whoever had grabbed her attention so profusely.
“I did, but I might need a reminder.”
She didn’t say anything to that, either ignoring him or having altogether not heard him. Frowning, he stifled down his irritation and tried asking again, directing his gaze to the other side of the table to see what, or who, was preventing him from getting that much-needed explanation.
He found his answer immediately, his pulse skyrocketing as he stared at those intense garnet eyes he could never mistake.
Reign.
Whoonlylooked at Teresa. Who didn’t even turn to acknowledge Noah. WhosmiledforTeresaand not Noah. Who kissed her extended hand with those thin lips that should’ve been meant only for Noah.
Reign.
Reign was here, sitting across from Noah, smiling and sipping wine from a gilded crystal glass while Noah’s heart shattered all over again.
